When viewers first met Paul Williams, he was in his late teens. Paul and Danny Romalotti worked as waiters at Jonas's Restaurant and were best friends. Paul and Nikki Reed met on a beach over ice cream cones when they were both 17 years old. Both of them were quite promiscuous, and Nikki gave Paul a venereal disease. Nevertheless, Nikki and Paul have remained close friends through the years.

Paul lived at home with his family which included his younger sister Patty and older brother Steve. Another brother, Todd, was never seen by viewers, but was admired by his devoutly Catholic parents, Mary and Carl, for joining the priesthood. Paul once saved Patty from drowning in a neighbor’s swimming pool, and became her protector from then on. When Nikki decided to clean up her act in order to land Greg Foster as a husband, Paul had a fling with April Stevens. April got pregnant, and Paul tried to talk her into having an abortion. April refused to tell her parents who the father was, so they pressured April by telling her that she had a twin sister who was given up for adoption at birth because her parents couldn't handle both babies. April refused the abortion, and Paul turned his back on her. Paul escaped the pressure by joining the New World Commune with Nikki, and ended up being held against their will when they decided to quit. Paul’s brother Steve and Peggy Brooks, who were both reporters, exposed the cult and helped Paul and Nikki escape.

After her baby Heather was born, Greg Foster fell for April. But when Heather fell gravely ill, Greg encouraged Paul to do the right thing and marry April. Paul and April were married and lived in a shabby apartment. Heather recovered but was a colicky baby and cried constantly. Parental responsibility proved too much for Paul so he and April mutually decided to divorce. April and Heather went to live with April’s parents in New York City. Paul began the first step of his detective career by finding April's twin sister Barbara Conway and reuniting her with her family.

About this time, Paul’s sister Patty disappeared from Genoa City following a bad marriage to Jack Abbott which resulted in her losing their baby and Patty shooting Jack three times after finding him in bed with Diane Jenkins. Over the years, Paul was unable to track her down.

In an effort to help him mature, Paul's father, police detective Carl Williams, got Paul on the police force to assist Carl with his cases. When Nikki was abducted by Rick Daros, Victor Newman came to Paul and Carl, and they rescued her. Paul and fellow officer, Andy Richards, worked undercover infiltrating the mob and were instrumental in helping the police bring down the mob boss known as Mr. Anthony. During his time with the mob, Paul became involved with Cindy Lake, “a hooker with a heart of gold," who took a bullet meant for Paul and died in his arms. Paul and Andy left the force to become private detectives, with Jazz "the mobster with a heart of gold" as their operative. Their secretary, Amy Lewis, was the daughter of the police captain, and she was also a singer.

Once Paul began working for and getting referrals from Victor Newman, his business became more successful. Paul moved into a posh office in Newman Towers, and branched out to security system installations with his new partner, another former mobster, Nathan (Kong) Hastings, and their loyal secretary Lynne Bassett.

Paul's mother, Mary, constantly set him up with good wholesome girls who would give him the grandchildren she so desperately wanted. These included Lynne and daughters of the ladies of her church. But Paul became involved with and married the fun and fiery Lauren Fenmore, daughter of Neil Fenmore, the owner of Fenmore Department stores. Mary felt Lauren was too flamboyant and all wrong for Paul. Paul and Lauren were happy for quite some time until a stalker named Sean came into her life and arranged for Paul to misunderstand their relationship. Paul and Lauren divorced, but Paul later rescued Lauren from Sean who had kidnapped Lauren and left her buried alive in San Francisco. Lauren lost Paul’s baby in the ordeal. Paul didn't even know she had been pregnant, but Paul and Lauren reunited. Lauren's next mistake was when she entered a nude photo of Paul in a contest which was used as a magazine centerfold. As a result, Paul decided not to remarry Lauren, but they remained friends.

Paul fell for a mysterious and beautiful woman named Cassandra Hall. Cassandra was an interior designer, so Paul hired her to decorate both his office and his bachelor pad. During their consultation on those projects, Paul became romantically involved with Cassandra, but she was satisfied with being lovers and was unwilling to marry him. One evening, while dining at the mansion of his client George Rawlins, the wealthy owner of Ra-Tech, Paul was shocked when George introduced him to his young wife Cassie. Cassie was Cassandra, but Paul didn’t let on that he knew her. Later while George and Paul were socializing in Cassandra’s absence, George confided in Paul that he feared his young wife would leave him because he was impotent, and George asked Paul to sire a child for them. Paul politely refused.

When confronted by Paul the next day, Cassandra insisted that she loved only Paul and that she was willing to divorce George. Cassandra told George she wanted a divorce to be with Paul, which caused George to suffer a heart attack. When Paul heard about George’s condition, Paul compassionately suggested that Cassandra wait until her husband was fully recovered before she told George about them. George was also informed by his doctor that he was suffering from a terminal illness. At about the same time, George discovered that Paul and Cassandra were lovers. In a twisted act of revenge, George argued with Paul while Victor Newman was nearby and overheard them. Then George plotted to kill himself and make it look as though Paul had murdered him. After George was found dead, Paul was arrested. Upon hearing about George's murder, Victor wisely surmised that his friend Paul had been set up. Paul’s police detective father, Carl, was in charge of the investigation.

Victor suspected that Cassandra was a lethal black widow. Victor seduced Cassandra, and for a while, Cassandra strung along both Victor and Paul. Meanwhile, Cassandra was meeting a mysterious man named Adrian Hunter. Cassandra told Adrian that she was desperate to leave Genoa City and start a new life with him. When it appeared that Paul would be convicted of George's murder, Paul and his father faked Paul's suicide. Once Cassandra was convinced that Paul was dead, Paul was free to work with his father to prove his innocence. Paul and Carl followed Cassandra and her lover Adrian to Bermuda, where they tormented Cassandra with visions of Paul as a ghost. Cassandra quickly returned home to Genoa City in horror and confessed that on the night George was murdered, she had been knocked unconscious, and when she awoke, there was a gun in her hand and her husband was dead. With Cassandra's help, Victor devised an elaborate plan to lure Adrian back into the country. Cassandra told Adrian that she was being held prisoner by Victor, and that she had been tied to a chair with a gun pointed at her with a block of melting ice rigged to fire the gun. When Adrian arrived to rescue Cassandra, Victor and Paul captured him. Carl arrested Adrian and exposed him as George's killer.

Cassandra then set her sights on Brad Carlton and offered Brad a job at Ra-Tech, the company she inherited from her husband George. Brad accepted Cassandra's job offer and agreed to go skiing with her in Aspen to work out the details. On the way to Aspen, Cassandra slipped Brad a drug that left him unconscious. They detoured to Las Vegas, where a groggy Brad married Cassandra in a quickie ceremony. When Brad finally regained consciousness he found himself in bed with his new wife at a resort in Aspen. Brad was livid and managed to get out of the marriage. At the divorce hearing, Brad and Cassandra agreed to part amicably and did not make any claim to each other's financial interests. Immediately after the hearing, Cassandra called Paul and told him that he was the man she really loved, and she rushed off to see him. But before they could meet, Cassandra was struck by a truck and died at the scene. At the reading of Cassandra's will, Paul was surprised to learn she had made him her sole heir. But before Paul could celebrate becoming a multi-millionaire, he found out that the judge who presided over Brad and Cassandra's divorce had died before he could sign their divorce decree. So Brad and Cassandra were still legally married, and Brad was the legal heir to Cassandra's fortune, including the Rawlins mansion and Ra-Tech. Brad accepted the entire inheritance with no regard for Paul.

Paul began working on cases with lawyer Christine Blair, who was once married to Paul’s best friend Danny Romalotti. Paul and Chris became involved romantically as their exploits took them to Vietnam to find Jack Abbott's long-lost son Keemo. Together, Paul and Chris helped old folks, Margaret and Miles, fight their slumlord and won decent housing for all of Rainbow Garden's elderly tenants.

Paul’s father Carl had disappeared and been missing eight years before Paul and Christine convinced Paul’s mother Mary to have Carl declared legally dead. Afterward, Mary finally accepted the attentions of Charlie Ockell, and Charlie asked Mary to marry him. Meanwhile Chris happened to be at the Norfolk airport on business, and was helped by a man working as a security guard. Later when Paul showed Chris a photo of his missing father, she realized that the security guard had been Carl. Without telling Paul, Chris returned to Norfolk and discovered that the guard was going by the name of Jim Bradley. Meanwhile "Jim" had just asked his girlfriend Ruthie to marry him when airport security tipped him that someone was asking about him. It turned out that Carl had been captured by some bad guys while working a Genoa City police case. Carl had been beaten unconscious and left on the highway to die. Carl had been found by a woman named Ruth Ann Perkins, who nursed him back to health, but he had amnesia.

Concerned that "Jim" had a family looking for him somewhere, Ruthie called the phone number Chris had left with airport security. After speaking with Chris, she tested "Jim," and he responded to the name Carl. So “Jim” and Ruthie invited Chris to their home. Chris and Ruthie convinced "Jim" to return to Genoa City and visit the family he didn't even remember. Paul was shocked and grateful to see his father again, but did not tell Mary. Although Carl tried, he never could remember or connect with his son, so Carl returned to Norfolk.

Mary and Charlie announced their engagement. Meanwhile Carl felt bad for Paul and decided that he should return to Genoa City again. Carl and Ruthie arrived on Christmas Eve, and Carl saw Paul and Mary from the rear of the church which triggered a memory of the family in church when Paul was a child. It so unnerved Carl, that he fled. Later Carl saw Paul and Mary at a diner which brought back yet another memory. Paul spotted his father, and privately asked him what his intentions were because Mary and Charlie were about to be married. Carl replied that he didn't know. Mary saw Carl, and she fainted. When Mary awoke, Carl told her about his amnesia and about Ruthie. Mary was convinced that despite his love for Ruthie, Mary’s love could bring back the past, and she and Carl would be happy together again. So Mary told Charlie the wedding was off. But try as she might, Mary could never bring back Carl's memory of them. Carl returned to Norfolk and Ruthie where they were married as they had planned. Charlie apparently never forgave Mary, so she was again left alone with her only pastime, which was meddling in Paul's life.

In 1993, April returned to Genoa City to visit Paul's mother Mary with her 13-year-old daughter, Heather. April was badly bruised, supposedly from a car accident. When Paul asked to be a part of Heather's life, April refused. She explained that they were happy in New York City with her dentist husband Robert Lynch, and that Robert had adopted Heather, and Heather thought that Robert was her biological father. After April returned to New York City, Robert beat her and accused her of having sex with Paul. Paul and Chris discovered that April was a battered wife. They went to New York City and got April into a support group, but were unable to convince April to leave Robert.

April returned to Genoa City a year later after again being beaten by Robert. Although April was still attracted to Paul, he gently turned down her advances. Concerned for Heather, whom she had left behind, April returned to Robert. When Robert tried to keep April in line by threatening Heather, April fatally stabbed him with a letter opener and was charged with his murder. April was relieved when Chris and John Silva volunteered to represent her in court. Chris and Silva's dynamic representation won April a suspended sentence due to self-defense. After she was reunited with Heather, April told Paul she wanted to begin a new life away from Genoa City. Much to Paul and Mary's disappointment, April and Heather returned to New York City and moved in with April’s rich twin sister, Barbara. Barbara also financed Heather's college education when she grew up.

Phyllis Romalotti, convinced that Chris stood in the way of Phyllis and Danny’s reconciliation, ran down Chris and Paul with a rented car on their wedding day, leaving Paul impotent. Once Paul recovered, the postponed wedding still almost did not happen after Paul walked in on Chris and Danny's sexual encounter. Chris managed to choose between them, and married Paul. Paul and Chris both wanted children, but they had trouble conceiving once they finally put Christine’s career aside long enough to try.

The cocky and successful attorney, Michael Baldwin, just out of prison for the attempted rape of Chris years earlier, convinced her to start a law practice with him. The practice was so successful that Chris again put starting a family on hold, which caused a rift in her marriage. Then Christine took a case in Hong Kong which meant living there for months. Paul balked at the idea, then decided to put his own career on hold to move there together. But Paul backed out at the last minute, and Christine lived in Hong Kong for months on her own with very little contact with Paul. When the Hong Kong case was finished, Christine was offered a case in Australia, but was determined to go home and try to mend her shattered marriage, so she turned it down. Christine arrived at their apartment only to find Paul in the arms of his new client Isabella Brańa. Without letting Paul know that she had been there, Chris accepted the case in Australia and filed for divorce.

Isabella didn't want to tell Paul that she was pregnant because she felt that he was still too hung up on Chris. So Isabella had a brief affair with Michael Baldwin, and she told him that he was the father. Michael was outraged at first, and he drew up legal papers for her to sign. But Isabella had something on Michael from their past, so he backed down and went along with her demands of rent, baby furniture, and living expenses until the baby was born. Michael also arranged for a job for Isabella in another town. Just as Michael was softening to the idea of having a child and a future with Isabella, and as Paul was getting involved with his former wife Lauren Fenmore, Paul found out about the baby's paternity and wanted to be a father to the child. That lie caused Isabella to fall out of grace with both Michael and Mary Williams.

Paul moved in with Isabella, who continued to manipulate him. Mary went to great lengths to try to convince Paul that Isabella was all wrong for him and would ruin his life. Despite the fact that Isabella was about to give Mary the grandchild, and Paul the child, they both had always wanted, Mary tried to convince Isabella to go away to a home for unwed mothers. Mary even begged for help from unlikely sources in Lauren, Chris, and even Michael; all of whom she disapproved of as well. Paul finally moved out on his own volition when Isabella started pressuring him to get married. Their baby boy, Ricardo Carl Williams, was born, but unlike Isabella's delusions, Paul was not willing to become one happy family with her. The sudden return of Chris complicated things for Isabella, but Chris rebuffed Paul’s advances for the baby's sake. So Paul married Isabella and moved in with her and their son, Ricky.

Chris worked long hours with Michael Baldwin and they became closer as they shared dinners and their feelings. They finally discussed their past, and although Chris agreed Michael was a changed man, she said it still haunted her. But Christine decided to put the past behind her and accepted Michael's marriage proposal. Paul invited Isabella's estranged father Ricardo to Ricky's christening, and they were happily reunited. Michael arrived and asked Ricardo not to mention that they had known each other or Isabella in the past. Then Michael announced his engagement to Chris, which enraged Paul. Paul attacked Michael, and Michael left with a black eye. Paul showed up later at Chris's apartment and forced himself on her sexually. Chris reciprocated, then said, “We shouldn't.” Paul later left a devastated-looking Chris, saying he was sorry about everything. The next morning Paul confessed that he had forced himself on Chris, and called it rape, to his friend Andy. Andy reminded Paul that rape was about humiliation and power, not about being overcome with passion. He reminded Paul that Christine never said 'no' and asked if it had been rape, or two people who loved each other, but had screwed up their lives to the point where they cannot be together? Chris disappeared, leaving both Michael and Paul wondering where she was. After Chris had been gone for months, the guilt got to Paul, and he told Isabella that he and Chris had had sex that night. Isabella left Paul, and only returned occasionally to see Ricky.

Chris eventually returned to expose Isabella, wearing a disguise as the dark-haired mysterious Kelly Simmons. Paul saw through Chris's disguise, and they came to an understanding about the rape, but Paul chose to move to Los Angeles with Isabella and his son. Paul took Ricky to Isabella's parents in Los Angeles, leaving Isabella to finish packing. Just before Michael and Chris were to be married, Michael confessed to Chris that he set up Isabella to meet Paul so that Chris and Paul would split for good, and Michael could have Chris. Chris exploded, walked out on Michael, and flew to Los Angeles to tell Paul the whole story. Chris found Paul camping on a beach, she told him the truth, and they ended up making love in the sand. Upon their return to Genoa City, Paul moved back into their former apartment with Chris while Isabella plotted revenge.

One night Isabella called her only friend Diane Jenkins who happened to be with Michael. Isabella told them someone was breaking in, then she screamed. When Michael arrived he found what appeared to be a bloody murder scene and Isabella was missing. Chris woke up in her car in the woods and told Michael and Paul of her last memory; Isabella screaming not to hurt her, a lot of blood, and a boat. Michael tracked down the boat, which was covered in blood, and destroyed the evidence against Chris. The night before Chris was to be arrested for Isabella's murder, Chris was attacked in her bathtub by Isabella who was very much alive. While wielding a butcher knife, Isabella revealed to Chris how Isabella had drugged her wine and set her up. Paul arrived in the nick of time, but was slugged from behind and knocked out. Later, as Paul was reviving the nearly-drowned Christine, Michael arrived and saved them both from the crazed Isabella. The police arrived and took Isabella away. Isabella was committed to a mental hospital, and Paul and Chris were free to be together once again. Paul moved in with Christine, and soon proposed. Christine laughed, and didn't take it seriously, so Paul moved out. Paul began seeing his ex-wife Lauren Fenmore, but Lauren and Paul's nemesis, Michael Baldwin ended up becoming lovers instead.

Paul lost his office lease and took Chris up on her offer to join the law firm of Baldwin & Blair as their investigator. Awaiting renovation of his own office, Paul shared offices with Chris. J.T. Hellstrom began working for Paul as an operative learning the ropes, and Paul occasionally dated Ashley Abbott. Paul worked a big case which involved saving Bobby Marcino from the mob. (See Bobby Marcino profile.) Another of Paul’s big cases was working with Christine to try to prove Daniel Romalotti innocent of the vehicular manslaughter of Cassie Newman. (See Cassidy Newman profile.) Paul also rescued Lauren Fenmore who had been kidnapped in 2005. (See Lauren Fenmore profile.)

In 2006 Victor Newman hired Paul to do a background check on his new son-in-law Brad Carlton. Paul and J.T. had discovered from a Cleveland high school annual photo that Brad was not the real Brad Carlton. After Victor sustained a head injury which changed his perspective on things, he asked Paul to drop the case. But J.T. was concerned for Brad's daughter Colleen, so he stayed on it. When Colleen found out, she encouraged J.T. to continue the investigation. With the help of Paul's Cleveland private investigator contact, Kara, facts were uncovered about the Kaplan family which she shared with Paul and Colleen. The family had been murdered, including their 15-year-old daughter, Stephanie. The only survivor, their 18-year-old son, George, had been sought for questioning. Three months later George's body had been found by the side of a road, presumed the victim of a hit and run. The police had assumed that George had been the murderer of his family. But Kara revealed that at the same time Brad Carlton had joined the Navy Seals.

Brad sent Sharon Newman on a mysterious errand to deliver a red tote bag to a car downtown. Colleen confronted her father, Brad, with what she had found out about his mysterious past and accused him of kidnapping J.T., who had gone missing. Brad explained his past to Colleen, then he hustled her and his daughter Abby to his private jet where the girls met Brad’s mother, Rebecca, for the first time. Brad sent them all to Hawaii where they would be safe.

Meanwhile Sharon returned from her errand to find Brad's front door ajar. Sharon was mistaken for Brad's wife, and was kidnapped and held captive with J.T. in Cleveland. Brad received a call from the kidnapper who told him they had Sharon. Victoria and Brad then brought Nick Newman and Paul in on the case. Brad explained to everyone his past as George Kaplan, how he had found Brad dead on the road and taken on his identity, and how his mother had testified against the Nazis which started it all, and that the kidnappers were after an artifact called the Grudgeon Reliquary. Then J.T. was dumped beaten up on Brad's doorstep as a warning. After they wasted days trying to track down the Reliquary on the Internet and through art dealers, Victoria decided to create a fake one using two other similar Grudgeon pieces. They took the fake to Cleveland, and Nick met the kidnapper and his henchman for the exchange at a church. Meanwhile, Brad, Paul and J.T. were converging on a shipping crate which was booby-trapped with explosives in which they were misled to believe that Sharon was being held. They disarmed the bomb but did not find Sharon inside. Then they arrived just in time at the church to rescue Nick and Sharon as explosives attached to Sharon were about to detonate. Brad fought with the bad guys, and he killed them both after the head guy admitted he was Oscar Volkmann, son of the Commandant who was executed after Brad's mother had testified against him. Everyone involved vowed to never tell what went on for everyone's safety. But later on Brad and Victoria told Victor and Nikki, and Nick told Phyllis.

In October 2006, Paul tracked Sheila Carter to Argentina and discovered that she had undergone plastic surgery which had made her look like Phyllis Summers, then afterward, Sheila had killed the plastic surgeon. Later that month, Paul discovered Sheila buying baby things at store in Genoa City. Paul followed Sheila to a warehouse where he trapped her in the very cell that Sheila had constructed with the intention of imprisoning Lauren while Sheila stole Lauren’s baby Fen. Paul made Sheila pose for a death photo at gunpoint and made up DNA samples to convince Lauren and Michael that Sheila had died after being struck by a car in Argentina. Paul also informed Phyllis and Nick about Sheila, but Paul kept Sheila imprisoned undetected until December. Then Michael put a tracking device on Paul's car and caught Paul bringing food to the warehouse. Michael was shocked to discover "Phyllis" in the cage, and he began to pick the lock. Paul reappeared and was able to convince Michael that it was really Sheila only after a phone call to the real Phyllis. Knowing the authorities could never keep Sheila contained, Paul and Michael shared the secret and the dilemma of what to do with her. Meanwhile Lauren and the real Phyllis had bonded through their pregnancies, and Phyllis helped Lauren who was suffering from post-partum depression and anxiety attacks.

Detective Maggie Sullivan and Paul Williams began dating. In Maggie’s curiosity about Paul's frequent absences when he claimed to be on a stakeout, she tracked him via his cell phone to the warehouse. Sheila conned Maggie into believing that she was Phyllis, so Maggie set her free. Then Sheila shot Maggie with Maggie’s own gun. Paul arrived and went to Maggie's aid, but was also trapped in the cell by Sheila. Sheila then found Phyllis at home, tied Phyllis up, and waited for Lauren and baby Fen to arrive, taunting Phyllis about how great it would be to take over Phyllis’s life and to enjoy her hot husband and new baby. Lauren arrived and was also tied up. Sheila left Lauren behind and took Phyllis and babies Fen and Summer to a retirement home where Sheila had an apartment. Michael eventually rescued Paul and Maggie, who was near-death, from the warehouse cell. After taking Maggie to the hospital, Paul and Michael rescued Lauren. While Paul and Michael followed Sheila's walkie-talkie signal which Sheila had planted to lure them elsewhere, Nick and Lauren, with the aid of Kevin Fisher, enhanced the background noise from Sheila’s latest taunting phone call. Nick recognized where they were, but while he and Kevin tried to find Paul, Lauren sneaked out with the gun Paul had given her for security. Lauren found the apartment, broke in, and confronted the two Phyllises. Phyllis managed to convince Lauren that she was the real one, and Lauren shot Sheila dead. Sheila’s dying words taunted Lauren that she would never be rid of her and that Lauren had shot the wrong one. Phyllis was livid with Michael and Lauren for endangering her and her baby Summer, but they eventually reconciled. Maggie recovered from her gunshot wound but never told the police about Paul and Michael holding Sheila captive.

Paul and Maggie continued to be involved, and Maggie underwent quite a transformation from her usual "plain Jane" cop persona into a very attractive woman. She and Paul had great chemistry, and Maggie was a welcome addition to Genoa City and Paul's life. Together they became involved in the investigation of the Glo By Jabot tainted face cream scandal, the murder of Ji Min Kim, and they investigated the suspicious death of D.A. William Bardwell. But Maggie disappeared with no explanation.

In 2007, Paul was shocked to meet new Assistant D.A. who was his daughter Heather Stevens. After a few months they became close friends as Paul pondered whether or not to tell her that he was her father. When Paul finally told her, Heather reacted with resentment. But she mellowed toward Paul after her mother, April, paid them a visit and explained the circumstances of their life-long estrangement.

Concerned for his friend, Nikki, and suspicious of her boyfriend, David Chow, due to his bad credit and two prior deceased rich wives, Paul began an investigation into David's past. Paul tracked down David’s last rich wife Bitsy to Bermuda where she had escaped in fear of David and divorced him. Bitsy told Paul that she and David had met as colleagues at Granville Global, and prior to that David had been “in politics”. Bitsy claimed that David got away with the death of his first wife, Janelle, by cheating on her, which caused Janelle to commit suicide. And Bitsy claimed that David had also gotten away with the murder of his second wife, Angela. Paul cut the interview short when Bitsy began ranting about aliens, yet he believed her claims about David may have been true. Paul tracked down Mina King, the sister of David's second wife, Angela, who claimed that David cut the brakes of her sister's car causing the accident that killed her. David received an anonymous tip that Paul had been investigating him, so David went to Nikki with his side of the story. David said he met his first wife Janelle in college, saying that she was always on the go, on a mission of some sort. David claimed that Janelle became paranoid, that she could not sleep, she refused to go for therapy, and she ended up over-dosing on sleeping pills. David told Nikki that his second wife Angela was very athletic, she flew a plane, and she was very volatile. After one of their many fights, Angela drove her sports car into a telephone pole and was killed. David admitted that he gambled away his inheritance from each of them. David also claimed that Angela’s daughter Mina was a cocaine addict and had accused David of murder because her mother had cut Mina out of her will. David claimed his third wife Bitsy was paranoid too, that she had accused him of leaking Granville Global company secrets and having affairs. When Bitsy had refused to get help, they separated, which was when David had an affair with Carmen Mesta. When Bitsy found out about Carmen, she accused David of murdering his wives for their money and became delusional, so David divorced Bitsy. Nikki appeared to believe David, and she asked Paul to stop investigating David. Paul said he would, but he did not.

Just as Sabrina was walking down the aisle to marry Victor, Nikki received a devastating phone call from David. David told her that he could no longer deceive her about his gambling, and that he wanted a divorce. But the next day David begged Nikki to give him another chance. Nikki refused to give up on David as she thought they could work it out together. Paul discovered that David’s real name was Angelo Seraffini, and that David worked for mobster Walter Palin, a.k.a. Anthony “Tony” Amato, doing cover-up work and possibly as a hitman. Nikki told David she knew all about his past and would no longer be made a fool, and she was adamant that they would divorce right after the annual charity ball. Paul was there for his friend Nikki all through her ordeal with David and following David’s death.

When Victor disappeared after his wife Sabrina’s death, Paul traced Victor to Bucerias, Mexico. Paul and Nikki went there to find Victor, but Paul had to return when his daughter Heather had a medical emergency. When Nikki finally found Victor, he told her to go home, that he wanted the world to think he was dead. In response to her declaration that she still loved him, he replied that he wished one of them had the guts to kill the other to put them both out of their misery. Paul was there for Nikki when she returned to Genoa City, her heart broken by Victor once again.

Paul began working with Michael Baldwin investigating the validity of the claim that the woman known as Marge Catrooke was really the recently deceased Katherine Chancellor. Since Nikki was still grieving the death of her best friend Katherine, she was adamantly opposed to anything except to prove that Marge was not Katherine.

Gloria Bardwell had been jailed for tainting Jabot’s face cream which may have caused the death of consumer Emma Gibson. Paul investigated Emma’s husband Andrew and discovered that Emma had a child by a former husband who was institutionalized with anaphylactic shock from a severe food allergy. Emma’s tests were compared with the son’s and six points of correlation were found, which proved Gloria innocent of causing Emma’s death. Although the judge was appalled at Gloria’s product tampering, he had to set her free of charges in the death of Emma Gibson.

First seen in Victor Newman's office without exposing her face, Mary Jane Benson accepted Victor’s proposition to have plastic surgery to infiltrate Jabot Cosmetics as a part of Victor's latest plot for revenge against Jack Abbott. Mary Jane apparently had known Jack years before and, for reasons of her own, wanted to get close to Jack without being recognized. Mary Jane presented a good case to Jack for why he needed her to restore his tarnished image, and was hired. But once Jill regained control of Jabot, she fired the Abbotts and Mary Jane; however, Jill lost Jabot when Katherine was declared alive. With Mary Jane's help and the information supplied to her by Victor, Jack convinced Kay to rehire him as CEO of Jabot and Mary Jane as head of PR, and also to restore Ashley and Billy to their Jabot positions. Mary Jane seduced Jack, and Jack was falling for her. While attending Katherine and Murphy's wedding with Jack, Mary Jane met Paul, who found something very familiar about her.

Nikki caught Kay's wedding bouquet, and it wasn't long before Nikki and Paul were engaged. Nikki made sure to tell Victor in person. Victor was okay with it, saying that Paul was an all-right fellow, but later Victor told his children that he thought Nikki was jumping into marriage because Victor was happy with Ashley.

Mary Jane appeared to have some mental problems, confiding in a taxidermal cat she called "Mr. Kitty," and building a scrapbook of those who had wronged her. After several evasive meetings, Paul ordered a background check on Mary Jane. Then after Mary Jane spotted Paul and Nikki talking with Paul's brother Father Todd, Mary Jane panicked and ran to Victor for support. Victor paid her off and terminated her services. After Paul confronted Mary Jane with the knowledge that she was going by an alias, she reported Paul to the police for stalking, and slapped a restraining order on him. Victor talked Mary Jane into dropping the restraining order, then she had a hallucination of a confrontation with Paul and their shared past.

In June 2009, Nina Webster, who had been Chris and Paul’s close friend, returned to Genoa City to make a screenplay out of Katherine's book of memoirs, and with the help of Paul, investigated Cane's story of being switched at birth with Nina’s deceased husband, Phillip III. Paul discovered that Violet was in a hospital in Arizona at the time of the baby switch, so that part of Cane's story had been a lie. Nina was anxious to identify her son's father to find out if he had the gene to confirm or rule out her son's possible diagnosis of Huntington's disease. When Nina called the lab to get the remains from the prior exhumation of Phillip re-examined, she was told they had no remains, nor any record of him at all in their files. So Nina had the body exhumed again, opened the coffin and found it empty. Further tests showed that there had never been a body in the coffin, just bags of sand to give it weight. Meanwhile Cane was frantically trying to get hold of "Langley", and when Jill reluctantly requested another DNA test, Cane was seen by viewers pulling a vial of blood from a freezer of dry ice. The blood test was done at the Chancellor estate, but Cane distracted everyone while he substituted the blood vials. The results came in, and all but Nina were thrilled that Cane proved to be Jill’s son. Then Paul delivered more news to Nina; tests showed the blood had been frozen, so Nina confronted Cane asking where he got the blood to pass the test. Cane admitted that he was a fraud in front of Nina, Kay, Jill, Murphy, Chloe, Neil and Lily, saying it was not for the money, he never wanted to hurt anyone, he had only meant to heal them, and of how they had become family to him. When asked how Cane could do this to the people who gave him nothing but love, Jill’s son Phillip emerged saying that it was his doing. All were aghast to see Phillip again, still alive.

Victor called a press conference and named Mary Jane as the person who hurt his grand daughter, Summer, so the entire city was looking for her. Mary Jane was discovered by Mackenzie Browning in an alley, and Mac befriended her thinking the woman was just a homeless person. Mac gave her food, blankets and a place to stay in the back room at her bar. Meanwhile Jack and Paul banded together to find Mary Jane themselves. After Victor asked for J.T.'s resignation, Paul talked J.T. into joining him in a new detective partnership, and J.T. also became involved in the Mary Jane Benson investigation. J.T. discovered through Mac that Mary Jane had been hiding out at her bar, stolen from her and disappeared, leaving a note that claimed Victor knew all about Mary Jane.

Paul and Nikki began living together in Paul's apartment and became engaged. At the rehearsal dinner the night before their wedding, Paul's brother Father Todd told the group that Mary was at home and not up to attending, but that she would be there for the wedding. But after talking with Victor later that night, Nikki realized she would never love Paul like she still loved Victor, and she called off the wedding. Nikki told everyone she had to get away, and she disappeared into the dark in a hooded outfit to wait for a cab in front of the ranch.

Meanwhile a mystery woman took confession with Paul's brother Father Todd. Todd told Paul he recognized her as their long-missing sister Patty. Paul spotted a woman in a blonde wig at the Athletic Club, recognized her as Mary Jane, and followed her. When he confronted her, she pleaded with him not to turn her in, and confessed that she was Patty. Paul was shocked, but took her to the convent for sanctuary, and called his Assistant D.A. daughter, Heather, hoping to get Patty some help and not jail. Meanwhile Gloria and Jeff found out where she was, and hoping to steal Patty away to blackmail Victor, Gloria got inside dressed as a nun. Jack saw the standoff at the convent on TV, showed up there, and Paul let him inside. Jack too was shocked to discover that Mary Jane was Patty, and talked to her. Patty, with a kitten in her arms, had reverted to the young girl they both knew and called "Pattycake", saying that she knew that her big brother Paul and Jack would rescue her. Before Patty would surrender, she insisted Jack marry her, telling Jack that she was pregnant by him. Suddenly the lights went out, and Patty was taken away by Gloria. Paul and Jack figured out that Victor was responsible for Patty’s new identity, all the havoc she had caused, and her current mental state. Jack told Phyllis the truth about Mary Jane, and Phyllis confronted Victor, asking if he brought Patty to town and set her up to get back at Jack, which caused Patty to hurt Summer. Victor avoided the question, claiming he would never intentionally hurt a member of his family. Jack offered a two million dollar reward, hoping to outbid Victor. Jeff and Gloria heard about it on the radio as they were driving Patty to hide out at the Abbott cabin, and they ended up making deals with both Victor and Jack. But both of them had booby-trapped their briefcases with blue dye instead of the money that blew up in Jeff and Gloria’s faces. Meanwhile, Paul charged into the ranch and demanded to know how his friend Victor could have done this to his sister, and to him, but Victor just denied it and sent Paul away.

Patty Williams had been left tied to a chair at the Abbott cabin by Gloria and Jeff while they awaited the ransom from Victor and Jack. Colleen showed up, and not knowing who Patty was, Colleen let her loose. Patty kidnapped her at gunpoint, taking her to Camp Cheveyo, and tied her to a tree. After Patty used Colleen's phone to call Jack, and Colleen hollered "cow.." (because the camp slogan was "Cowabunga", and she and Jack had both gone there as kids) before she was disconnected. Jack, J.T., and Paul searched for Colleen, and convinced even Victoria that Victor had set this all in motion by bringing Patty back to Genoa City to get back at Jack.

Meanwhile Patty was bitten by a spider and had a bad reaction, Colleen got loose, and held the gun on Patty, unsure what to do as Patty begged her for help. When Colleen tried to help her, Patty grabbed the gun away, but Colleen was able to convince her that she would get help and return, and left in a canoe. Colleen fell out, and hit her head on the bottom of the boat as she surfaced, which sent her down again. Colleen was clearly drowning in the same lake as her father, with an eerie sequence of visions she was visited by the people who loved her who begged her to fight and come back to them. She even visited her best friend Lily giving her final advice. Colleen saw her dead father and grandfather, ready to take her to the beyond. Jack realized where Colleen was, raced to the camp, and pulled her out of the lake. But as he tried to administer CPR, Patty was there holding the gun on him. Victor arrived and tried to convince Patty to drop the gun and let Jack save Colleen. Patty shot Victor three times instead and ran into the woods. Paul followed Patty, and J.T. stayed to help Victor. Colleen's mother Traci and step-father Steve, along with Billy and Abby were at the hospital when Colleen was brought in, with Nick and Victoria there for Victor.

Paul caught up with Patty and talked her into turning herself in, promised he would not abandon her, and she was taken to a psychiatric hospital. Paul traced Nikki to a Colorado spa and brought her back to be with Victor who was in critical condition. Victor recovered after a heart transplant and he and Nikki made plans to be together again.

Paul visited Patty in a state facility for the criminally insane and found her believing she was still 16 and married to Jack. Paul was able to relocate Patty to a nearby institution and returned to Genoa City with Dr. Emily Peterson who was on sabbatical from the University of Minnesota Medical School. Emily had met Patty when Patty was living in a shelter and working as a janitor at the University. Patty had been her patient for quite some time, then disappeared. Patty had obviously used Emily as a model for her plastic surgery, because Emily looked exactly like Patty. Paul and Emily confronted Jack and Victor in Victor's hospital room about all they had both done to contribute to Patty's dangerous instability. Victor offered to arrange for Patty's care, and Paul told him to forget it, and Paul and Emily stormed out.

Jill and Katherine mended fences and admitted that they felt like mother and daughter again. But Jill decided it was time Kay found the real daughter that she had given to Charlotte Ramsey, so she hired Paul to investigate, swearing him to secrecy from Kay. Paul discovered that Charlotte had not only disappeared, but every record and every trace of her was also gone. Paul tracked down the daughter who had been given to the Gray Nuns at the Sisters of Charity orphanage near the Canadian border, and Jill presented her name and whereabouts as a gift to Kay for Christmas 2009. Jill and Kay flew to South Dakota and met JoAnn "JoJo" Glover, proprietor of JoJo's Bail Bonds. But when a DNA test proved JoJo was not Kay's daughter, it was discovered that Tucker McCall had set JoJo up as part of his plot to get revenge on Kay because he was her missing child. Another DNA test proved it.

Nina and Paul began spending a lot of time together, and were surprised when their feelings turned romantic. Nina was good for Paul, especially when Patty went into a coma after trying to commit suicide. Nina took Paul to movies and skating to get his mind off his problems.

Paul asked Emily to visit Patty because was she was so out of control, not realizing that hearing of Jack and Emily's engagement was the cause. Patty knocked Emily out and drugged her, changed Emily’s hair color, and switched places with her. Patty married Jack as Emily, with Patty's brother Father Todd officiating. Later Paul visited "Patty" and found her in a coma and not expected to live. Comatose Emily became frantic, having put together what had happened to her from things she heard from conversations between Patty's brothers Paul and Father Todd. Meanwhile Patty honeymooned with Jack, hoping to get pregnant. Patty convinced everyone she was Emily, and even Jack noticed only that she was more exuberant and suddenly willing to go along with his plans against Victor. Paul called "Emily" when “Patty” showed signs of coming out of her coma, then left them alone together. Emily awoke, and Patty threatened to kill her if she didn't keep her mouth shut. Emily tried to tell Paul who she was, but Patty was always claiming to be Emily in her delusions, so he tossed in the trash the blood sample she gave him to test. In time, Jack finally began noticing "Emily's" unusually manic behavior, and confided in Phyllis, wondering if he had really known Emily well enough to marry her. Patty would follow them and jealously plotted to get rid of Phyllis.

“Emily” claimed to be pregnant by Jack to keep him, but Jack checked out her doctor and realized she was faking. Jack let Patty know that he was onto her lies, that he wanted out of their marriage. Meanwhile at the institution, Emily was visited by Paul and Heather. Emily managed to slip Heather a DNA sample and begged Heather to help her prove who she was. Jack, with Ashley’s help, realized that “Emily” was Patty, but one step ahead of him, Patty bleached her hair and took Emily’s place after she drugged her and put Emily in a morgue drawer with a Jane Doe toe tag. On the way, Jack broke the news to Paul who had just learned from Heather that the DNA test proved that she and “Patty” were not related. While Jack thought he was reuniting with the real Emily, Emily in the morgue drawer, knew what was going on but was unable to move or speak. Paul then discovered that Patty had signed in to the hospital as Emily an hour before they got there, and started searching for her. Jack dogged Patty to “Emily” until she flipped out. Jack realized she was Patty, and demanded to know where Emily was, saying, “If you love me, tell me where Emily is so he can help her.” Patty’s answer, “She’s gone”, sent Jack rushing to the morgue where he found Emily. Sobbing over her body, Jack noticed a tear in her eye, and realized Emily was still alive. He got a doctor to give her an adrenaline injection to her heart, and Emily began coming back. Ever the dedicated doctor, Emily accompanied Jack via wheelchair to help Paul talk Patty out of killing herself with a syringe. Patty was arrested and committed to a facility for criminally insane, but later escaped and ended up free in South America. (See the Patty Williams profile for more on this storyline.)

Just as Paul and Nina’s newfound romance began to heat up and they made love, Chris, in town for a visit, knocked at Paul’s door. Chris gave Nina and Paul her blessing, but as Chris left, it appeared she had expected a reunion with Paul instead. Chris later told someone on her cell phone, that a female she had not visited yet was in grave danger. After some reminiscing by Nina, Paul, and Chris that touched on Nina’s stolen first baby boy, Paul volunteered to search for him again.

Chris told Genoa City police detective Ronan Malloy, who was actually working undercover with her for the Justice Department, that Nina and Paul were searching for Nina’s first son, who was stolen at birth. Chrise was afraid that they might discover that Ronan was that son. Chris was unable to disclose Ronan’s identity to anyone or she would jeopardize the case they were working on. Chloe Mitchell figured out that he was Nina’s son by his birth date, and confronted Ronan with his real name, Aiden Lansing. Ronan admitted he was working undercover and shared with Chloe that two parents, the Lansings, had raised him and sacrificed everything for him. Chloe hoped to get Ronan to warm up to Nina and her son Chance who was Ronan’s detective partner, after the case was closed. But Ronan was reluctant, saying that working undercover, he enjoyed getting into another persona, which appealed to the part of him that felt like something was missing. He said that he could never have a personal life; there was just too much risk.

Because she and Paul were getting too close again, and out of respect for her friend Nina, Chris prepared to return to Washington, D.C. Nina, well aware of their undying love and attraction, tipped Paul that Christine was leaving. Paul caught up with her, but Chris said she felt that things were the way they were meant to be, and she was spoiling it, so she left.

Chloe told Chance that he and Ronan were brothers. At the same moment, Paul and Nina got their first look at an aged sketch of what her son would look like grown-up, which was made from a newspaper photo of Aiden and his grade school football team.

Chance confronted Ronan about their being brothers, and off-screen made plans to trap Pomerantz and Meeks, the dirty D.A. and cop in the case they were working. Ronan, armed with the untraceable gun Meeks and Pomerantz had given him, met them with their suitcases of drugs at a warehouse. They checked Ronan for a wire and warned him that if he didn’t kill Chance, they would kill both Chance and Ronan. Chance arrived at the warehouse and drew his gun on Meeks, Pomerantz and another dirty cop, telling him they were headed to Internal Affairs.

Back at the Chancellor mansion, Nina, Chloe and Heather were gathered with Paul to trace Chance’s location by his cell phone’s GPS. Nina expressed her distrust of Ronan, so Paul decided it was time to tell her the truth - that Ronan was an FBI agent working undercover in Genoa City, and that Ronan would be there to protect Chance. Heather added that they had not told Nina before because they'd been sworn to secrecy. Chloe then exposed to everyone that Ronan was Chance’s brother, and Nina’s stolen son. Nina was stunned as Paul received word of Chance’s location, and they all left to find him.

At the warehouse, Ronan appeared behind Chance, his gun pointed at his brother, and Paul and Nina burst in just as Ronan shot Chance in the chest. Medics arrived and pronounced Chance dead. Heather and Chloe sobbed while a grief-stricken Nina attacked Ronan for killing his own brother. Meeks and Pomerantz directed the police to arrest Ronan for Chance’s murder. As Chance was being wheeled out, Nina realized that he had been saying goodbye to everyone all that day. Back at the mansion, Nina ran upstairs in tears and Paul was left to break the news to Chance’s father, Phillip; his grandmother, Jill; Kay; and Murphy. Phillip comforted Nina as she realized that Chris must have known that Ronan was her son all along. When a stunned Chris arrived at Nina’s door, Nina slammed the door in her face. Chris tried to justify her actions to Paul, but he rebuffed her as well. Later a uniformed Army officer arrived at the door to help the family make arrangements. He showed Nina his prosthetic leg, and credited Chance with saving his life in Afghanistan.

At the police station, Heather confronted Ronan who claimed he had shot Chance in self-defense. Then Heather demanded that Pomerantz rehire her so she could prosecute Ronan since it was due to Ronan’s claims that she had been fired.

A wake was held at the Chancellor mansion the night prior to Chance’s military funeral, with his ashes later interred at Arlington National Cemetery. At the end of the funeral Nina suddenly cried out, “How dare you!” as Christine arrived with Ronan. Ronan showed his FBI credentials and arrested Pomerantz, Meeks, and their cohorts, explaining that Chance had been wearing a wire, and the FBI arrived and took them away. The funeral turned into a screaming match with Nina calling Chris and Ronan disrespectful and tried to send them away.

After the Attorney General heard D.A. Pomerantz on tape giving Ronan orders to “End this, kill him now,” he began an investigation of cases in which Pomerantz was involved and made Heather Interim District Attorney until the next election. Paul congratulated her, she asked him to be her Investigator, and he accepted. Later Victor Newman found out and offered to bankroll Heather’s campaign if she would go after Adam and see that he paid for his crimes. But later after Heather appeared to give Victor special favors, she was forced to back out of the race in disgrace, and was fired by the new D.A.

Christine arranged for Phillip and Nina to be taken by an FBI man to an out of the way location where they met her and Ronan. Then Chance emerged from the shadows, very much alive. Nina and Phillip hugged him while Chris and Chance disclosed that it was all a setup, and that Chance would be going into the witness protection program, very possibly to never be seen or heard of again. But this was the only way to protect him and keep him alive, and Nina and Phillip had to keep the secret, and no one else could ever know the truth. Phillip told Chance he was very proud of his son, and hugged him goodbye. Chance and Nina parted, agreeing to keep in touch the way they had when he was deployed, to look at the moon at 9:00 PM each night, and know that the other was safe and missing them. Ronan and Chance drove away, and Nina, Phillip, and Christine returned to the Chancellor mansion, and did not say a word about what had happened. But later, thinking that Katherine’s health was endangered because of it, Christine told Katherine the truth.

Ronan blacked out and Heather took him to the hospital where the diagnosis he’d gotten in Boston of hereditary amyloidosis was confirmed; the same disease his father had died of at about the same age. Heather began to care more and more for Ronan, showing up at his dingy apartment with food, and encouraging him to eat, also to get close to Nina and fight his disease. They ended up becoming lovers, as Ronan found out that his only hope to live would be a liver transplant. Ronan refused to tell his mother of his condition, so Heather told her. Nina went to Ronan and assured him that they would fight this together. Because Heather was subpoenaed to be a witness at the former D.A.’s trial, she and Paul listened to a copy of the tape made the night that Chance was killed. Paul recognized the gunshots as blanks, and further investigation revealed that the paramedics who took Chance’s body away were fakes. So Heather went to Ronan with their theory that Chance was still alive, causing Ronan to have to admit that he was in witness protection. When Christine found out what Heather knew, she fired Ronan for mishandling the case. Nina was tested, but was not a match to donate part of her liver to help Ronan, so she convinced Chris to tell Chance. Paul was there when Christine and Heather arrived so Nina told Paul that Chance was still alive. Christine told them that Chance was being tested, and if he was a match the donation would happen after Chance testified at the former D.A.’s trial. Ronan tried to leave town, but Nina caught him at the bus station and talked him into staying and fighting this together with her, Heather, and Paul.

Ronan and Heather went ice skating with Paul and Nina. Ronan told them about his adoptive mother, an amateur figure skater who taught classes, and that he played hockey so he had learned a few tricks like a back-checking Salchow from her. Then Ronan passed out, and was taken to Genoa City Memorial, where he was told that he needed the liver transplant soon or he would die. Christine showed up to announce that Chance was a match, and that he was in town to testify. Meanwhile, Jill, who was mourning the death of her “son” Cane, was taken to her room to rest by Nina, and there stood her bearded and very much alive grandson, Chance. Chance said he was there to help Jill get over Cane, and to help Ronan. Jill was miffed that everyone seemed to know that Chance had never died but her, but was just relived to have him back. Heather was thrilled to see Chance again, but made it clear that her love was with Ronan.

Nate Hastings, a Rheumatology specialist practicing in Boston, returned to Genoa City to perform the partial liver transplant on Ronan, using part of Chance's liver. In the waiting room were Jill, Paul, Heather, Nina, Phillip who had arrived from his home in Australia, Kay with Murphy who had just been told about Chance, and Chloe, who was told when she arrived wondering why everyone was there. Chance came through the surgery fine, but as soon as Ronan's surgery was finished, Ronan was taken away by an unmarked helicopter under orders from the FBI. Nate was shocked and very concerned for his patient, saying it was very dangerous for Ronan in his condition. Chris knew nothing about the transfer, and her superiors were not answering their phones. Chance was released from the hospital and was taken back to the Chancellor Estate to recuperate. After Chris got confirmation that Ronan had ordered his own transfer, only Nina still had faith in Ronan.

Waiting for the trial, Chance recovered from surgery, sequestered in his room at the Chancellor Estate. Heather visited Chance and told him that she hated him for lying to her and faking his death, then fell into his arms and they made love. Nina and Phillip threw Chance a birthday party, where he disappointed everyone when he admitted that he was probably going back into witness protection after his testimony.

The trial began and Chance was announced as the first witness. As Chance approached the stand in his dress blues, he got a text message telling him that his girlfriend would be killed if he testified. Chance faked a severe pain to get a recess to discuss the situation with prosecutor Christine, Paul, and his parents. Paul noticed the call had come from his daughter Heather's phone, and Christine got the FBI to try to track it.

Meanwhile Heather was tied up and blindfolded at the boarded-up Treetop Taxidermy Shop, taken and held there by Angelo, the same thug who was threatening Jeffrey over money owed a bookie. Back outside the courtroom, Paul told that he knew what he had to do, and Chance bravely continued his testimony against Pomerantz and Meeks while they glared at him. Chance testified how he had investigated the drug ring, how it had led to the defendants, how he was setup for drug possession, and how people had started getting killed once they knew he was onto them. Chance then told how he and Ronan had set up the sting in which he had faked his death. The recording from that night was played including Pomerantz's orders, the gunshot, and Chance's supposed death. After his testimony, Chance confronted Pomerantz telling him that he would not get away with it, and Owen said that Chance had just killed his girlfriend. The bailiff called Angelo, and Angelo told Heather that she would be killed, but that he was leaving, and someone else would do the job.

Back at the courthouse, the FBI man announced that the van in the surveillance video of Heather's abduction was last seen traveling west on route 12. Chance admitted that he was in love with Heather as he and Paul left vowing to find Heather alive, leaving Phillip and Nina to console each other.

Heather found a knife and was able to cut herself loose, but was unable to get out of the building. In her desperation to get out before her killer arrived, she started the place on fire. Chance and Paul saw the fire from the highway and got her outside where she came-to. As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Chance told Heather that he loved her, and that she was the one. Later Pomerantz and Meeks cut a deal, and were sentenced to Walworth Prison.

In August 2011, Nina returned from Los Angeles announcing that Chance was missing. Although she had been getting regular emails, she suddenly stopped hearing from him, and had alerted Phillip in Australia. That same day, Paul was shocked when Ronan showed up as an investigator at the crime scene where Diane Jenkins had been murdered. Paul asked for an explanation of why Ronan had disappeared and where he had been, but Ronan said he had been rehired by the Genoa City Police, and that was all Paul needed to know. Nina was stunned when she ran into Ronan at the police station while looking for Paul. Then Ronan hurt her feelings when he refused to give her any explanation for why he had disappeared or hadn't told her that he was back, and Nina called him cold-hearted. Nina lamented that her missing son was on a classified mission, and the other wanted nothing to do with her, but was consoled by Paul. Later, Ronan was convinced that there was a leak in the police department, as these clues and the murder scene photos had gotten out to the public. Ronan called in Paul for help, saying that he was the only person he knew that he could trust.

Katherine Chancellor had hired Paul Williams to track down the child of her son Tucker McCall, whose mother had gotten pregnant as a teenage groupie, then had disappeared. The girl being one of many groupies that McCall had slept with, had only sent him an anonymous letter telling him that he had a son whom he would never know. Paul was led by an old photo to another groupie, Amy Koslow, who told him about the groupie known as "Candy Cane," who had a big crush on "Mick", the nickname that McCall went by then, and that when she had disappeared, she was rumored to be pregnant. This clue led Paul to discover that "Candy Cane" was Yolanda Hamilton, and that Devon Hamilton Winters was Tucker's son. After reporting the news to Katherine, Paul was told not to tell anyone since Tucker obviously didn't care enough to track him down on his own. Later that same day when Katherine heard that Tucker had fired Devon who worked for Tucker as a record producer, she met with Devon and asked him to become president of a new yet-to-be-named entertainment division of Chancellor Industries. Devon was shocked but accepted the job.

Paul was thrilled that his son Ricky, a graduate student in journalism, had secured an internship working for well-known attorney, Avery Bailey Clark, in Genoa City. Paul admitted that he had seen Ricky over the years but didn't really know him. Heather was shocked to discover that her half-brother Ricky would be helping Avery defend Sharon Newman for murder.

Heather was at the Athletic Club bar when Adam sat down beside her, proceeded to get her drunk, and took her up to his room. Adam had arranged for Ricky to take photos of Adam kissing his drunken sister for Avery to use to get Sharon off with a mistrial. But Heather turned Adam down, so he took another room and left her in his room to sleep it off. Ricky was hoping to use the photos to get a sensational story to work for Restless Style, but he got to know Heather better and realized that she had grown up without their father too, and was quite psychologically damaged from her abusive stepfather. So Ricky declined to sell the photos to Phyllis, and only gave them to Avery as a last resort to save Sharon. Although they ended up not having to use the photos, Phyllis stole them from the courtroom and put them up online with a sensational story about the A.D.A. fraternizing with a witness. Heather was fired as A.D.A. as a result. Ricky filed a lawsuit against Phyllis and Restless Style for using work without payment with Avery representing him, and Avery filed a criminal complaint for theft of evidence from an attorney in court. With her career ruined, Paul said goodbye to Heather, who left for New York City to stay with her mother, April, then Paul tore into Ricky for humiliating his sister.

In November 2011, Emily Peterson showed up in Genoa City for a visit saying that it was unsettling to be back, but long over-due. She ran into Paul and assured him that she was not Patty. Paul filled her in on Patty's escape, and that she had been tracked to South America, but there had been no sign of her since. Later Emily showed up at Jack's and they shared their regrets while Patty lurked outside watching. Unknown to Paul, Patty had returned and taken on the persona of Myrna as Genevieve Atkinson's maid. When Genevieve and Jack Abbott became engaged, Patty shifted her attention to getting Genevieve out of Jack's life.

Patty rigged a step on the stairs so that Genevieve would fall, but Jack arrived just in time to catch her. Genevieve called in Ronan to investigate. When Ronan failed to acknowledge Nikki's suspicions against Deacon, she went to Paul for help. Paul and Ronan decided to team up to work on both investigations. Meanwhile Genevieve moved in with Jack for her own safety. Meanwhile Myra stayed at Genevieve's muttering that Genevieve would never be Jack's wife.